Exposure to violence and PTSD symptoms among Somali women

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, exposure to traumatic stressors, and health care utilization were examined in 84 women attending a primary health care clinic in Mogadishu, Somalia. The Somalia-Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale was used in this active warzone to measure symptoms. Nearly all women reported high levels of confrontations with violence; half described being exposed to a potentially traumatizing event. Nearly one third had significant PTSD symptoms. Compared to those who did not, women who reported exposure to a traumatic stressor reported more confrontations with violence (7.1 vs. 3.3; p < . 001), health complaints (3.8 vs. 2.9; p = .03), and nearly 3 times as much (p = .03) health service utilization. A potentially traumatizing event was found to be a simplified proxy for assessing mental health distress in women attending a primary health care facility in highly insecure, unpredictable, resource-limited settings

Wavelength-swept Tm-doped fiber laser operating in the two-micron wavelength band

A wavelength-swept thulium-doped silica fiber laser using an intracavity rotating slotted-disk wavelength scanning filter in combination with an intracavity solid etalon for passive control of temporal and spectral profiles is reported. The laser yielded a wavelength swept output in a step-wise fashion with each laser pulse separated from the previous pulse by a frequency interval equal to the free-spectral-range of the etalon and with an instantaneous linewidth of <0.05 nm. Scanning ranges from 1905 nm to 2049 nm for a cladding-pumping laser configuration, and from 1768 nm to 1956 nm for a core-pumping laser configuration were achieved at average output powers up to ~1 W

Outcomes of a remote, decentralized health center-based HIV/AIDS antiretroviral program in Zambia, 2003 to 2007

A cross-sectional study of patients living with HIV/ AIDS treated during 2003 to 2007 in decentralized, rural health centers in Zambia was performed to measure virological outcomes after 12 months of antiretroviral therapy and identify factors associated with virological failure. Data from 228 patients who started antiretroviral therapy >12 months prior were analyzed. In all, 93% received stavudine + lamivudine + nevirapine regimens, and median antiretroviral therapy duration was 23.5 months (interquartile range 20-28). Of the 205 patients tested for viral load, 177 (86%) had viral load <1000 copies/mL. Probability of developing virological failure (viral load >1000 copies/mL) was 8.9% at 24 months and 19.6% at 32 months. Predictors for virological failure were <100% adherence, body mass index <18.5 kg/m(2), and women <40 years old. Of those with virological failure who underwent 3 to 6 months of intensive adherence counseling, 45% obtained virological success. In a remote, resource-limited setting in decentralized health centers, virological and immunological assessments of patients on antiretroviral therapy >12 months showed that positive health outcomes are achievable

Multiwavelength analysis of the young open cluster NGC 2362

We present a multiwavelength analysis of the young open cluster NGC 2362. UBVRcIc CCD photometric observations, together with available data in the Chandra data base, near infrared data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), and recently published Halpha spectroscopy were used to get information about the evolutionary stage of the cluster and the main physical properties of its stellar content. Cluster membership is estimated for every individual star by means of ZAMS and isochrone fitting. The cluster is confirmed to host a richly populated pre-main sequence (PMS), and to contain a large amount of X-ray emitting stars, which reach from the PMS members of GK spectral type, up to the most luminous OB type main sequence (MS) members. The PMS cluster members show no significant age spread, and the comparison to both PMS and post-MS isochrones suggests a younger age for the more massive MS than for lower mass PMS members. The analysis allows to asses the validity of currently used pre-main sequence evolutionary models, and supports the suggestion of a well defined positive correlation of the X-ray emission from PMS stars with their bolometric luminosity. Clear differences are found on the other hand, between the X-ray activity properties of MS and PMS cluster members, both in the relation between X-ray luminosity and bolometric luminosity, and in spectral properties as well.Comment: 1 gzipped file: 1 tex file with 9 pages text. 5 ps files with figures. Submitted to Astrophysical Journa

Laser Control of Dissipative Two-Exciton Dynamics in Molecular Aggregates

There are two types of two-photon transitions in molecular aggregates, that is, non-local excitations of two monomers and local double excitations to some higher excited intra-monomer electronic state. As a consequence of the inter-monomer Coulomb interaction these different excitation states are coupled to each other. Higher excited intra-monomer states are rather short-lived due to efficient internal conversion of electronic into vibrational energy. Combining both processes leads to the annihilation of an electronic excitation state, which is a major loss channel for establishing high excitation densities in molecular aggregates. Applying theoretical pulse optimization techniques to a Frenkel exciton model it is shown that the dynamics of two-exciton states in linear aggregates (dimer to tetramer) can be influenced by ultrafast shaped laser pulses. In particular, it is studied to what extent the decay of the two-exciton population by inter-band transitions can be transiently suppressed. Intra-band dynamics is described by a dissipative hierarchy equation approach, which takes into account strong exciton-vibrational coupling in the non-Markovian regime.Comment: revised version, fig. 8 ne

Ultra-broadband wavelength-swept Tm-doped fiber laser using wavelength-combined gain stages

A wavelength-swept thulium-doped fiber laser system employing two parallel cavities with two different fiber gain stages is reported. The fiber gain stages were tailored to provide emission in complementary bands with external wavelength-dependent feedback cavities sharing a common rotating polygon mirror for wavelength scanning. The wavelength-swept laser outputs from the fiber gain elements were spectrally combined by means of a dichroic mirror and yielded over 500 mW of output with a scanning range from ~1740 nm to ~2070 nm for a scanning frequency of ~340 Hz

A Comparison of the LVDP and {\Lambda}CDM Cosmological Models

We compare the cosmological kinematics obtained via our law of linearly varying deceleration parameter (LVDP) with the kinematics obtained in the {\Lambda}CDM model. We show that the LVDP model is almost indistinguishable from the {\Lambda}CDM model up to the near future of our universe as far as the current observations are concerned, though their predictions differ tremendously into the far future.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, matches the version to be published in International Journal of Theoretical Physic

Limitations of practical multi-photon decoherence-free states

It is shown in this paper that decoherence-free subspace (DFS) of practical multi-photon polarization can not avoid the exponential decoherence even in the same extra-environment if the photons are frequency-anticorrelated. The reason lies in that the condition of collective decoherence is not satisfied in this case. As an example, the evolution of biphoton's decoherence-free state is given. Possible solution for feasible multi-photon's DFS state is also given.Comment: 6 pages, no figur

Testing of the 2.6 GHz SRF Cavity Tuner for the Dark Photon Experiment at 2 K

At FNAL two single cell 2.6 GHz SRF cavities are being used to search for dark photons, the experiment can be conducted at 2 K or in a dilution refrigerator. Precise frequency tuning is required for these two cavities so they can be matched in frequency. A cooling capacity constraint on the dilution refrigerator only allows piezo actuators to be part of the design of the 2.6 GHz cavity tuner. The tuner is equipped with three encapsulated piezos that deliver long and short-range frequency tuning. Modifications were implemented on the first tuner design due to the low forces on the piezos caused by the cavity. Three brass rods with Belleville washers were added to the design to increase the overall force on the piezos. The testing results at 2 K are presented with the original design tuner and with the modification.Comment: 21st International Conference on Radio-Frequency Superconductivity (SRF 2023

Toll-like receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with allergic rhinitis: a case control study

10.1186/1471-2350-13-66BMC Medical Genetics13-BMGM